Only Eighteen
by Rani Jashalithie
Summary: "Only eighteen and already married and disowned." Andromeda's misadventures in the real world dealing with romance and disgrace.


**A/N: So this is my entry for Fanfiction Idol Round Two. I'm in a very Black Sisters-y mood. And its really all Seasin's fault. ;)**

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_It seems like yesterday we were just children_

_Playing soldiers, just pretending_

_Dreaming dreams with happy endings._

_~Eyes Open, Taylor Swift_

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Andromeda gripped Ted's hand tighter. It really was odd, she mused, how she was getting married. Of all the scenarios, this was definitely not one she'd thought of.

Of course, she, like all other girls at one point, imagined her wedding. She, Bella, and Cissy even enacted it out a few times. Cissy would always be the flower girl, throwing petals of paper into the imaginary aisle. Andromeda would be the maid of honor, carrying a bouquet of papier-mache flowers with wire stems. And last would come Bella, wrapped in a bedsheet with an abnormally long train (normally carried by a house-elf or two) nose perpendicular to the ground and holding a bunch of wilting roses. They were young then.

Mother had discovered them playing the game one evening, and immediately forbade them from "behaving in such an undignified manner." After that, the wire bouquet and the paper petals and the wilting roses were thrown out and never seen again by any of the Black sisters.

Andromeda had always wished for a big wedding. Bella would be her Maid of Honor. Cissy would be a bridesmaid. Sirius, or more probably Reg, would be ring bearer. But for all the times she'd imagined her wedding, she never assigned a visage to the tux-clad individual waiting at the altar. But at the time it didn't matter. They'd get married and have tons of pureblood babies, and live happily ever after.

That was before she met Teddy.

When someone asked her about her seventh year, she couldn't remember the exams, or the Quidditch matches or the stress and anxiety of finishing school, or even the prospect of a looming loveless proposal. No, all she could think about was having the time of her life sneaking around the castle, finding secluded hallways and forgotten broom cupboards to spend some quality time with a certain Hufflepuff boy.

They had to be cautious. Andromeda could no longer be open about everything the way she was with Bella and Cissy before it happened. Suddenly her life was split into Before Teddy and After Teddy, and all events existed in either category or not at all. Hogsmeade trips were cut short. Tempers flared. And Andromeda learned exactly how good it felt to be undignified and reckless once in a while.

Then came Rabastan Lestrange. And Andromeda's world was turned upside down. He didn't make her laugh; all she could manage in his presence was a grimace. His hands weren't warm; they were icy. Together, they drank expensive wines out of golden goblets, not firewhisky straight out of the bottle. There was nothing remotely endearing about him. His eyes were black, like chips of obsidian. The most passion he could possibly feel was the effort he put into his drunken endeavours to feel her up. He brought her flowers once; she'd seen him cut the roses from the hedge outside Bella's window.

And yet, they were betrothed and set to marry within months. She felt horrible _knowing_ what being hopelessly in love felt like and spending her life with a person who could never in a million years replace that. Bloody pureblood society.

It was then that she realized it didn't matter anymore. It never _really_ disgusted her to begin with, but she didn't truly let go of it until then. Who cared if he was Muggle-born? He made her _happy_. He made her free. She didn't have to confine herself around him. She didn't have to be afraid he'd curse her if she said the wrong thing, like with Bella. He never gave her disapproving glares, like Cissy did.

She began to plan her escape. Rabastan invited her to dinner, and the betrothed's parents felt it was best to give the two some private time free from nosy siblings and chaperones before they were expected to spend the rest of their miserable existences together. She was allowed to Apparate to the Lestrange Manor alone, and no one would expect her back for at least three hours, some, like Cissy, expected her to stay out all night.

Andromeda shrunk her small pack of clothes and slipped it into her clutch purse. She'd left almost everything behind, including the emerald earrings Cissy was so fond of, and the ruby choker Bella had given her oh-so-long ago. Her school robes still hung limp in her wardrobe; she wasn't proud to wear the Slytherin crest anymore. The violet dress robes worn to Professor Slughorn's parties sagged next to them. All she'd taken was a change of clothes-an extra skirt and blouse.

She shut the door to her room and took a deep breath. She had to leave. It was now or never. Slowly, she walked across the hall to Cissy's room. She knocked gently. "Cissy? I-I'm leaving."

"Mmkay. See you tomorrow! Enjoy your night!" Cissy's muffled voice was heard from the other side of the thick oak door.

Andromeda rolled her eyes. She went down the hall, her robes rustling around, dragging behind her. She walked slowly down the stairs, savoring the sound of her black heels on the hard steps. This was going to be the last time she'd ever walked down these stairs.

Trying not to think about it too much, and rather vainly ignoring the welling tears in her eyes, she rushed out the front door and made her way to the edge of the property. She opened the wrought-iron gate and closed it gently. It creaked shut. This was it. She wasn't coming back.

With a loud and final crack, Andromeda Black left her childhood home forever.

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And now she was sitting in the dingy Ministry waiting room, her hand clutching Teddy's like a lifeline. They had to get legally married before she could sever the last tie with her family, something she would be more than happy to do. But most ministers and authorized personnel were in hiding, and so they'd skipped the ceremonies and went straight to the Ministry's office for their marriage license.

Only eighteen. And already disowned, married, and disgraced.

She wasn't a girl anymore. This wasn't pretend. She had grown up more in the last year than ever before. Bella wouldn't be her maid of honor. Cissy wasn't going to be her bridesmaid. Mother wouldn't be sitting in the aisle, delicately sniffing into a lace hankie. Father wouldn't walk her down the aisle. There wasn't a groom waiting at the altar.

But she knew, whatever happened, that _he_ would be there with her, by her side, for the rest of forever. That part of her dream, at least, was true.

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**I hope you liked it! **


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